When can hedges be cut?

Outside nesting season, which runs roughly March to August, you can cut when you like. Inside it, it is an offence under the Wildlife and Countryside Act to damage an active nest, so a hedge gets looked over before the trimmer starts and work gets left where there is a nest in it. For most garden hedges, late summer into autumn is the straightforward window.

Can you reduce the height of a conifer hedge?

The top, yes. The sides are where people come unstuck. Leylandii and most conifers do not regrow from brown wood, so if a reduction takes the green off a face it stays brown. We will tell you how far in you can go before that happens, and if the honest answer is that the hedge is beyond saving we will say so.

Do you take the cuttings?

Yes, and off the borders and the lawn as well, not just the obvious pile. It goes through the chipper and leaves on the truck.

How often should it be done?

Twice a year for fast growers like leylandii and privet, once for beech, hornbeam and most native mixes. We can put you on a cycle so it does not get away again.

A long laurel hedge cut square and level along the edge of a striped lawn, with a bird bath and bench beyond

Hedges cut straight, and cleared away.

A hedge cut properly has flat faces, a level top and a slight taper so the bottom still gets light. The cuttings leave with us.

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What a cut includes

Most hedges want two cuts a year. A single annual cut works on slower growers if it is timed right.

Faces cut flat and the top run to a line, not by eye
A slight batter, wider at the base, so the bottom does not go bare
Reductions in height and width where a hedge has got away from someone
Reshaping an overgrown run back to something maintainable
Cuttings raked out of borders and off the lawn, not just off the top
Everything chipped and taken away on the day

A tall garden hedge part way through being cut, with a ladder, collection sheet and petrol trimmer on the lawn

Different hedges, different rules

Cutting leylandii like beech is how people end up with a brown wall.

Leylandii and conifer

Will not regrow from brown wood. Once it is cut back past the green it stays bare, so reductions are planned carefully.
Beech and hornbeam

Take a hard cut and hold their copper leaves through winter. One good cut in late summer is usually enough.
Laurel

Cut with a blade rather than shredded with a flail, because torn laurel leaves brown off and look burnt.
Privet and box

Fast and forgiving. Two or three light cuts a year keeps the face tight.
Mixed and native hedging

Hawthorn, blackthorn and field maple. Cut on a cycle so it keeps its stock-proof density.
Commercial runs

Car parks, schools and estate boundaries, priced by the metre and done outside opening hours where needed.

Hedge got away from you?

A long overgrown run is a different job from a routine cut, and usually cheaper than people expect. Send a photo along the length of it.

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Questions about this job

When can hedges be cut?: Outside nesting season, which runs roughly March to August, you can cut when you like. Inside it, it is an offence under the Wildlife and Countryside Act to damage an active nest, so a hedge gets looked over before the trimmer starts and work gets left where there is a nest in it. For most garden hedges, late summer into autumn is the straightforward window.
Can you reduce the height of a conifer hedge?: The top, yes. The sides are where people come unstuck. Leylandii and most conifers do not regrow from brown wood, so if a reduction takes the green off a face it stays brown. We will tell you how far in you can go before that happens, and if the honest answer is that the hedge is beyond saving we will say so.
Do you take the cuttings?: Yes, and off the borders and the lawn as well, not just the obvious pile. It goes through the chipper and leaves on the truck.
How often should it be done?: Twice a year for fast growers like leylandii and privet, once for beech, hornbeam and most native mixes. We can put you on a cycle so it does not get away again.